Democracy Now! is a daily television and radio news broadcast probably not known to many in the United States of America. The show is hosted by journalist Amy Goodman, who also acts as the show’s executive producer. Besides having the best theme music for any news show ever, Democracy Now! attempts to deliver the news in a style that is actually similar to the way Walter Cronkite read the news in the 1960s. Unlike Fox News or many current news programs, the emphasis is not on the personalities of the host and there are are no leggy blondes perched up on bar stools complaining about the weather and personal skin care products.
If you compare the delivery of the news between Walter Cronkite and Amy Goodman it is striking how their intonation, style and rhythm are similar, albeit Amy Goodman’s is probably a fifth higher. Close your eyes. The similarities are almost shocking.
Just compare these two videos.
Walter Cronkite
Amy Goodman
I am no scholar of the history of television journalism, but this style and approach surely have something to do with Edward R. Murrow and his journalistic philosophy,, approach and style – a thing of a bygone era. They simply read the news deadpan with a consistent rhythm and no chatter.
So if you want to see or hear the headlines like it was Walter Cronkite staring at the camera reading the news, watch Amy Goodman and the DemocracyNow! headlines. It is like a strong cup of black coffee – hold the cream, no sugar.
Reading “I Walked with Giants” the autobiography of Jimmy Heath I ran into a very prescient quote about the United States of America from a speech delivered by Artie Shaw, the great big band clarinetist.
“This is a great country, but there are a lot of idiots in it. That’s why I went to Spain for a while.” – Artie Shaw in 1998 at Jewish Community Center – Washington, DC (“I Walked with Giants” p245)
.
This was in 1998. I fear that the idiots are simply multiplying!
Of all of Donald Trump’s henchmen, Michael Cohen is the only one that seems to have had a personal reckoning and has admitted his mistake of ever dealing with Trump. His closing speech in February 2019, before they took him off to prison for a brief time, is an honest assessment of the situation.
“I fear that if he loses the election in 2020, that there will never be a peaceful transition of power. And this is why I agreed to appear before you today.” – Michael Cohen, Closing speech to the Senate – February 2019
Which is all at once spooky, insightful and clairvoyant. As of late, Trump repeatedly states that if he loses the 2020 election that it is all “rigged.” What a mess we are in!
I bore witness to the real man, in strip clubs, shady business meetings, and in unguarded moments when he revealed who he really was: a cheat, a liar, a fraud, a bully, a racist, a predator, a con man. – Michael Cohen, – from his book Disloyal
UPDATE: June 13, 2023
Fascism seems to just keep gaining strength is the United States.
Earlier Tuesday in Florida, Trump was arrested in a historic arraignment in a Miami federal courthouse where he pleaded not guilty to 37 criminal charges.
Trump is the first former president to face federal charges and was arrested and booked alongside his aide and co-defendant, Walt Nauta.
This indictment comes just months after Trump was charged by a Manhattan grand jury in a separate hush-money case.
CNN, Trump pleads not guilty in historic federal indictment
It is time that a brave judge simply locks him up in a jail until the trials begin.
UPDATE: September 21, 2022
And here we are, more than two years later, and Michael Cohen’s prediction has proved to be correct. Not only was there never a peaceful transition of power, but the shenanigans continue at an even higher decibel. We do not hear much from Michael Cohen these days, but he probably sleeps just fine at night. It is hard to find tranquility without truth and a clear conscience.
When he gave his testimony before Congress in February of 2019 it was an interesting view into some really basic psychology that every parent knows. Michael Cohen, no longer the glib, brazen New York lawyer who fixes legal woes for rich folk, appeared humbled, calm and sober. One could only surmise that he had conversations with his family and his wife, which may have made him change his tune. In the final Senate hearing, Michael Cohen’s entire body language changed, and unlike many on the stand who twitched and blinked in odd ways, anyone in the room could see that Cohen was confessing the truth. His eerie prediction evidently fell on the deaf ears of the Republicans. But then again, I sort of feel that the adults left the room somewhere around 2015.
Today, Michael Cohen is probably saying “I told you so” to the people who will listen.
UPDATE: August 27, 2023
“After surrendering on Thursday at an Atlanta jail to be booked on state felony charges alleging his involvement in a criminal conspiracy to void the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump sat for a mug shot in which he scowls like a psychopath out of a Stanley Kubrick film.” Politico
I was hoping they would just lock the guy up in jail in a group-cell with other dangerous criminals. Michael Cohen’s predictions and assessments were correct.
The motto of this fine publication is “Slow News that Doesn’t Break.” While you may be able to learn the latest tidbits and disjointed morsels and turds from places like Twitter and Facebook, at the San Francisco Journal you get “Slow News that Doesn’t Break.” I ventured onto Twitter the other day to promote a piece of writing and was a bit disgusted with the whole ethos of the place. Grown adults shouting at each other like carnival barkers, writing incoherent phases like some deranged, mentally ill person outside your window in the middle of the night howling at the streetlight.
The San Francisco Journal Quarterly Report comes out four times a year, and tries to give an overview of the state of things in San Francisco. No need to be a news junkie around here.
COVID-19 Pandemic Update
The shelter in place order started on March 16th. On July 1, we will have been sheltering in place for 107 days. People are starting to get out and about and as of June 15, we are in Phase 2b which means a few things are open. It is still pretty much shut down mode.
Black Lives Matter Demonstrations
Since the disturbing murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, there have been many demonstrations all around the Bay Area. On June 3rd we went to a large demonstration against police brutality at Mission High. Great speakers. Great group of demonstrators. After the speeches we marched West on 17th Street up to the Castro, took a right on Castro Street then down 15th Street. We left the entourage when we got to Valencia Street. Not reported by the big news outlets is that when the demonstration ended at 650 Bryant, the City Jail and Court House a rather large papermache head of Donald Trump was set on fire in the middle of the street. The police simply stood and watched. What was interesting is that throughout most of the march and especially at Dolores Park there were no signs of police. No one was hurt. No violence erupted. Very calm and peaceful with everyone wearing masks.
With the Vietnam war in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s it took the six-o-clock news and reporters embedded with the troops taking shocking images of innocent villages been napalmed and bombed to rouse the public to protest. War atrocities surely still go on but they have been hidden from our view. What is not hidden from our view, and what people document by video on their phones on a daily basis is police killing black people. This, at least for now, the government cannot censor.
June 3, 2020 Police Brutality Protest outside of Mission High
Protest outside of Mission High
Protest outside of Mission High
Protest outside of Mission High
Heading West on 17th
Heading West on 17th
Heading East on 15th
Photos of San Francisco During the Pandemic
For the past 100 days I have often ventured out on bicycle and ride 20 miles or so around the city. Sometimes I take “The Wiggle,” other times I explore other parts of the city. I have been taking photos along the way.
With restaurants closed they will often board board up their windows. Many places then go the extra mile and create art. Here are some of my favorites.
Taqueria at 18th and Valencia
Zuni Cafe
Zuni Cafe
Valencia Street
Mission Street
Some photos of biking and San Francisco during the last 100 days.
June 19, 2020 – Dolores Park
Victorians still standing
Ominous warning
Market Street
Market Street
McLaren Park
Mission Dolores
Great High at Ocean Beach is now permanently closed
Kids will remember the pandemic on two wheels
Saint Lukes being torn down
Candle Stick Point Pier
Bordered up stores
Bordered up stores
Gas under $3 a gallon
Sporting News
No NBA, MLB and other professional sports at this time. There are some rumblings that the MLB will start up in July but time will tell. People are getting out more it seems – hiking parks, cycling and surfing (even though it is not surf season) are very popular.
Weather
June is the beginning of the foggy season in San Francisco. The temperatures usually are from 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. We get strong northwest winds with higher pressure over the ocean and lower pressure over land in the central valley. This brings about increasingly persistent west to northwest winds during the spring months that go until the Indian Summer of September. It is always reassuring when this weather pattern returns, even though after months of fog and winds it gets pretty relentless. Of course the quote often used to describe San Francisco in the summer is thought to be one by Mark Twain: “The coldest winter I ever saw was the summer I spent in San Francisco.” However, another that seems more in keeping with our times is:
“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.” – Mark Twain
Before the internet, there were armies of salesman that would go door-to-door selling encyclopedias. It was thought that without the latest Encyclopedia Britannica it would be impossible for your kids to write their history papers. Today, Wikipedia has assumed the role of the encyclopedia but in the realm of video, it is the documentaries of Ken Burns . Home-bound due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided to bite the bullet and buy the nine-episode Country Music | A Film by Ken Burns documentary on Amazon. Under $50 it comes out to about five bucks an episode. Country Music | A Film by Ken Burns is a fun romp through the twentieth century and a great way to discover new artists and bands, but in the end it was not so much about the music but a postcard parade of the people and musicians.
Introduction
Ken Burns approaches his documentaries as though he is writing an encyclopedia; he always goes wide but rarely very deep. This gives the viewer the impression that what they are seeing is the unvarnished truth. Every documentary is stylistically exactly the same in his pedantic, dry, documentary style. If you watch Ken Burns’ The Civil War, Jazz or Baseball they are all identical and Country Music maintains this consistency. The serious voice of Peter Coyote narrates though out and the titling and production are all the same. It is the Ken Burns encyclopedia and while it is great to get an overview of these subjects, the more you know about the subjects, the more disturbing and slightly irritating it becomes. Things are left out. Stereotypes are reinforced. A strange middle ground seems to always be the goal. If a topic seems a bit risky, the next scene brings it back to something more conventional. Controversy is avoided. For instance, even though you can count notable black country musicians on one hand, nevertheless there is Wynton Marsalis as usual adding comments and insights from the wings.
“I was talking with a friend of mine about this the other day; that country life, as I knew it might really be a thing of the past and when music people today, performers and fans alike, talk about being “country,” they don’t mean they know or even care about the land and the life it sustains and regulates. They’re talking more about choices – a way to look, a group to belong to, a kind of music to call their own.” Johnny Cash – The Autobiography of Johnny Cash
What really is “Country” music?
The notion of the genre of country music and what artists are “country,” like the word “jazz,” is forever perplexing and something more to do with the business of selling the music than the actual music.
“Three Chords and the Truth” – coined by Harlan Howard in the 1950s which he used to describe Country music
What really is “country” music? From a musical standpoint, “Three Chords and the Truth” does seem to get at a good definition but some of the best country songs use secondary dominant chords extensively (e.g., Salty Dog) and the dominant II chord is usually the climax of the song . But do forgive me. I am writing about the music, not the people. I sort of like Cash’s geographical take on country – it ain’t “city.” Ironically, the history of bluegrass was actually aided by country folk moving to the city and longing for simpler times in the country.
One of the most redeeming qualities of country music are the lyrics. What ties all country musicians together is the singer/songwriter, cowboy or as it is often called troubadour. This may be true, but what I find in many of the successful country musicians is a rebellious streak. They seem, from a sociological standpoint, more like punk-rockers than anything else. Jimmie Rodgers, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and even Hank Williams were pushing the boundaries and going against the norms. In the film, it seemed a bit odd, but confirms my take, is that Marty Stewart named Woody Guthrie as being “about as country as it gets.” Which begs the question, then why did not Pete Seeger get even mentioned in the documentary? He was as country as Woody Guthrie and sparked the revival of the banjo with his banjo method book. Surely many country banjo players used his book to learn the instrument. Where folk ends and country begins, blues music ends and country begins, are all blurred lines. Who Ken Burns allows into the country club surely has something to do more with politics than the actual music. Perhaps to be country, is to have played at the Grand Old Opry or recorded in Nashville.
One thing that Burns avoids is how most of the country musicians tended to be far more politically progressive than their reactionary, predominantly conservative, Republican audiences. This is particularly true starting in the late 1960’s after the South went Republican. One of those important factors not really delved very deeply on, perhaps to avoid controversy and not alienate the core country audience, who would prefer to see the rebellious nature as a sort of cowboy libertarian streak, and be done with it. That the documentary ends in 1996 is surely convenient as it makes it possible to avoid bands like the Dixie Chicks that called George Bush out on his criminal and ill-conceived Iraq war.
Race and the almost Mythical Older Black Musician
One of the reoccurring themes in the movie is race, which is dealt with in an often incomplete fashion. From the documentary we learn that many of the early country stars at one point in their youth had a profound experience with an older black musician. Jimmie Rodgers, the father of country, learned how to play from an older black musician down by the railroad tracks. There were two other big musicians that come to mind but who’s names I forget that had similar experiences with older black musical mentors.
Country music is a predominantly white people’s music with a few invited guests – Charlie Pride, DeFord Bailey as noted examples. Perhaps the most amazing country album is Ray Charles’ country album that is pure countrypolitan and a smash hit. But issues like how the heck did Charlie Pride play in the segregated Jim Crow South are never brought up. Why, unlike in jazz, there are hardly any mixed-race bands? And, why, in every episode,as interludes, there are black and white photos of rural impoverished African-American families, gathered outside their shack of a house, with no explanation of why this photo is chosen?
Feminism and the Taboo Word
The the 1960’s. Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Emily Lou Harris, Patsy Cline and others became huge country music stars. It is truly phenomenal how many powerhouse women came on the scene. Interestingly, Burns never uses the term “feminism” and instead describes this as – “at the time they called this woman’s liberation or women’s lib.” He goes on to described the woman as “feisty” or “strong-willed.” Just an observation of how language can influence perception and define history. In the late 1960’s there was a massive feminist movement culminating in the E.R.A. that never passed. One wonders if Burn’s never using the word “feminism” was intentional.
Country Music | A Film by Ken Burns. Well worth the price of admission, and a great way to get a broad-brush view of the topic of country music but a film that makes you question everything.
INTERESTING ALBUMS OF NOTE FOR PEOPLE WHO NEVER HAVE OWNED A COUNTY ALBUM IN THEIR LIVES AND DO NOT LIKE COUNTRY
I did not grow up with country music. Folk music, pop, rock and roll, jazz, classical. Not country. My parents were from the north and primarily urban, well-read and educated. Below are albums for people who do not like country music.
Jimmie Rodgers with Louis Armstrong
It is a true fact, not out of some E.L Doctorow novel, that the father of country music, Jimmie Rodgers cut a record with Louis Armstrong. This is simply as strange as realizing that Aretha Franklin’s funkiest rhythm section was all white boys. Blue Yodel 9 is evidently a country song. This was before the music industry was putting labels on absolutely everything.
Johnny Cash many years later got together with Louis Armstrong and played Blue Yodel 9.
Ray Charles
One the the best-selling country albums of all times is Ray Charles’ Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music . Ray Charles would probably sound great reading the phone book, but here you have some heavy New York and L.A. style production and Ray, growing up country, just sings these country songs like he is in the shower.
Willie Nelson
Read Willie Nelson’s autobiography Its a Long Story. I once heard that Willie always wanted to make a bebop album, so Stardust is as close as he got. His early love for Bob Wills and country swing opened him up to all kinds of music and he sings these mostly jazz standards with great phrasing, relaxation and outstanding pitch. Some of the standards sound a bit like music I would hear in a bowling alley in some sleepy Midwest town, but if they call this country, I’ll take it.
An amazing character, Willie is featured a lot in Country Music | A Film by Ken Burns. To get the full story of what happened when Willie’s house outside of Nashville burned to the ground, you have to read Its a Long Story. Willie is sitting in a bar in Nashville and a friend rushes in to inform him his house is burning down. Willie races off in his pickup and when he gets to the house the fire trucks are already there and the whole place is surrounded by yellow “do not cross” tape. At that point, Willie asks if anyone is inside. When he learns that everyone is safe, he makes a dash inside the house. He returns safe with just two things. His trusty, beat up guitar and a guitar case full of marijuana. That is a true story ready for the movies that does not even need a screen writer.
Johnny Cash
An epic career and a unique person and musician. He did a bunch of albums on the themes of Native Americans which would be interesting to check out. Growing up in federally subsidized housing and picking cotton from a young age, Johnny Cash to me is really a punk-rock, soul artist who happens to be white.
You have probably heard it a hundred times. “Way to cold to swim there in the Bay.” “How can you go in that water?” “It must be filthy!” “You’re a complete nut!!!!”
Actually, now is a great time to go to Aquatic Park and take a dip. Just think. You may be dead next year. We all may be dead next year. You only go around once as they say.
Cheap Thrills Strategy – The Plan
Wear a mask. Check out the cams online and the best bet is to go when it is sunny. North Beach in San Francisco tends to be sunnier than many other neighborhoods during the summer. Fog does push in at times, but Aquatic Park tends to be protected. There are lovely seats in the bleachers by the cove. Lot’s of space. Bring a picnic. Take in the views. Watch people as they stroll by. Alcatraz. Massive container ships from thousands of miles away coming in and out. Historic ships like the Balclutha docked close by. If you do not want to go for a swim you could make a gentleman’s bet with a friend and the person who loses has to swim out to one of the buoys. Pretty soon you will realize that the water is not too cold and the views incredible. Feel free to float on the salt water. In summer it can get up to 64 degrees Fahrenheit.
But I know you. “There is no way I am going in that water!.” You never know until you try.
It is a good thing that large newspapers have found a way to keep in business in the digital landscape. For a time, in the world of journalism, it looked like even the big players were not going to make it. I subscribe to the local paper and the N.Y. Times. From time to time I will post comments to various N.Y. Times pieces and enjoy reading the contributions and ideas from the many mysterious contributors – Socrates, CynicalObserver, God on wheels, Great Family and Friends Dish. Pretty much all of my comments are approved and people recommend them and life goes on. About a week ago I wrote a comment about how a certain article seemed to just brush the surface of the topic.
My comment was approved and garnered a fair amount of recommendations and then was taken down. When I asked the N.Y. Times about why it was taken down, I got this for an answer: “While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective.” I find it odd that they censored this comment as it is not off-topic and abusive only if you think the truth is intolerable. What I was simply saying is that this topic is complicated – “a complicated story with many players needing more than 3000 words.”
But in the end the N.Y. Times has every right to not publish my comments. It is a private company and can do what they want, just as Jack Dorsey should have kicked Donald Trump off of Twitter years ago for violating their terms. However, I feel that my comment below is certainly not off-topic, not abusive and perhaps even insightful. For posterity, the comment that was taken down and the N.Y. Times response is below.
What do you think? Did I cross the line?
Paul
Wed, Nov 11, 8:33 AM
Your comment has been approved!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with The New York Times community.
Gustav | San Francisco
I think it is important to look at the rapidly changing landscape of identity among young people with a more nuanced eye. A big change in the last five years is that the medical community has become very aggressive in intervening in the bodies of youth who declare that they are transgender. Hormones and surgery are used as early interventions and “treatments.” A story not told on the NYT is how the rise of social media and the ubiquitous smart phone has stressed out many kids. Today identity is everything and many have gotten lost in transgender echo-chambers. The ignorant medical community just gets out the needles and scalpels – a complicated story with many players needing more than 3000 words.
And the N.Y. Times response to why they removed my comment.
Michelle (The New York Times Customer Care)
Nov 20, 2020, 8:00 PM EST
Hello Paul,
Thank you for contacting us here at the Customer Care Center here at The New York Times. Let me first personally thank you for your ongoing support and readership of The New York Times. I appreciate your loyalty.
While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Our Community desk will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.
If you have any questions or require any other assistance, please feel free to reply to this email. You can also call us at 800-698-4637, or chat with us.
Thank you again for contacting The New York Times. Enjoy your day and be safe!
In a 6-3 decision, the court said the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars employers with 15 employees or more from discriminating on the basis of sex, requires them to treat male and female employees equally regardless of their sexuality or biological gender at birth — regardless of whether they are gay or lesbian, straight or transgender. SF Chronicle – U.S. Supreme Court rules job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal – June 15, 2020
It is a good thing that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that job discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal ( Bostock vs. Clayton County). To condone discrimination based on who people love and are attracted to and people who are on hormones to self-authenticate their gender is simply unethical. Prescribing hormones to people to self-authenticate has its own set of ethical questions, but that is another topic all together. What is lost on many journalists and commentators who think this is simply a big win for people who are homosexual or identify as transgender is that they miss a key aspect of the ruling. What the ruling does is simply reaffirm the 1964 Civil Rights Act which bars employers with 15 employees or more from discriminating on the basis of sex
Gorsuch wrote. “That’s because it is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex.”
What this means, and what the court is saying is that sex is real. In our current world of polarized political rhetoric, identity politics and solipsism this may seem like a minor point, but in reality it is significant. Bostock vs. Clayton County may be framed as a win for LGBT rights but it far more subtle. Gorsuch frames the issue with “it does not matter whether you are gay or identify as transgender you are first, fundamentally a human – female or male.” Surprisingly, he is looking at the issue from a feminist, not really a LGBT, perspective.
Eventually there will be other judgments by the court that will disappoint the LGBT community. They will become shrill and irate and claim that Gorsuch has changed his views and backpedaled but in fact they will not understand the premise of his argument and reasoning. Indeed, the ERA, that unfortunately never passed, is an amendment that would have deemed equality not based on gender but sex.
It is refreshing to see the Supreme Court function as it was intended. A place where cases are argued and laws are created that take the long view and are not susceptible to the politics and fads of the day,
NOTE: The opinion above is only that of the author and does not represent the San Francisco Journal, investors or subsidiaries. Letters to the editors can be sent via the contact link below.
UPDATE: 2/28/2023
McLaren Park just gets better. I brand new playground (McLaren Park Redwood Grove Playground) and bathrooms opened up along John F. Shelly Drive. Also, Shelly Drive is still closed from the parking lot down to Mansell Street and people use it as open space for walks and runs.
Some photos of McLaren Park (not to be confused with MacClaren, or McClaren Park) in San Francisco. A great place to hike, walk a dog, picnic, teach a kid how to ride a bike or just take in views of the Bay Area. With the COVID-19 shelter in place situation. McLaren Park is now being used a lot more than before. People on the weekends picnic and lie around on the mown lawns like they do at Dolores Park. Lots of kids getting to know nature. From McLaren Park there are great views of downtown San Francisco, Bernal Heights, Brisbane, Oakland, Twin Peaks, the Pacific Ocean. Mount Davidson, Mount Diablo. There is a three mile hike called the Philosopher’s Way Trail which makes it seem at times that you are not in a city but on a rural trail. John McLaren, who best loved undeveloped urban parks would be happy to see all the people out in nature.
Before McLaren Park became a park, a hundred years ago it was a horse farm with stables. Easy to imagine.
BREAKING NEWS: The Pelican Cafe has reopened after being closed for a few months because of no apparent reason. We still do not serve any food, coffee or beverages. Newly remodeled, the virtual cafe has been open since April and is now primarily experiential.
At the Pelican Cafe you can experience the Pacific Ocean in a visceral way – at least as visceral as possible in an internet browser. The videos posted are all from Ocean Beach in San Francisco and correlate to the time of day that you visit the web site. Addition videos will be added soon.
“This came to yet another head last Friday night when Mark (Zuckerberg) decided Facebook would not remove Trump’s post in which he invoked a historically racist phrase to threaten violence against civilians. Mark suggested that it didn’t violate Facebook’s terms of service because Trump was a state actor and so his threat was more of a warning.” Jessi Hempel, June 3, 2020 Will employee protests fix Facebook’s power problem?
What a strange terms of service. So if you are a “state actor” you can get away with racist hate speech, toxic and dangerous lies and sexist insults. But if you are a black man, in our society you get a knee in your neck and killed by the police for just breathing air. Facebook is toxic. It is really that simple. Mark Zuckerberg is simply a greedy capitalist… a lot like Donald Trump. Mark Zuckerberg is NOT your “friend.”
It amazes me that reporters are still taken aback at how vile, misogynistic, sexist, selfish and self-aggrandizing Donald Trump is at press conferences. This sort of behavior has been going on for as long as Donald Trump joined the world of entertainment and politics. Reporters often stand amazed with their jaws dropped while Trump insults them and calls them bad reporters and their employers “fake news.” It is as though they have not realized that the rule book of civility was burned in 2015 as he climbed his way to power. I suggest that instead of ever thinking they will get a straight answer from this guy, play his silly game.
Instead of asking a question like “Dr. Fauci has stated that it is best that many parts of the economy stay in shutdown. Why against expert advice, do you think it is good to open up the restaurants and bars now?” To which they will either get an incoherent rambling or an insult or two.
Perhaps it would be better to ask a question where you catch Trump off guard in such a way were he looks even dumber than he already is. For example, “Mr. President, you stated last week that you have been taking the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a preventive measure for Covid-19. We were wonder if you gargle with bleach before of after you take the hydroxychloroquine?” Such a question would remind the room that Trump has recommended crazy medical theories in the past, and thus he could not deny that he recommended ingesting cleaning products. The reason that this tactic is essential is that Trump refuses to govern and the only hope for the press is to simply state the truth with as much irony and humor as possible.
If Trump insults them once again, at least the press will get the last laugh.
